*Grandma Forrey sends a piece of news - the kind we've come to expect at this time of the year - from Idaho. Rachel Pinkerton, a home scholar who is ten, is going to the Big Spelling Dance in Dee Cee.

*Joel Osteen, whose church has 35,000 weekend attendees, has snagged a megacontract,with a Simon and Schuster imprint, for a forthcoming non-fiction book.

*A former teen heartthrob, turned born-again evangelist, doesn't come across as vague or squishy. Unlike this televangelist who isn't afraid to tell folks where he doesn't stand.***

*If he wasn't such a dark character, Mr. V from Vendetta could mulitply his notoriety as a fast-food chain, 6" action figure. An anarchist to go with your fries, ma'am?

*Real estate in the Soon-to-be-less-free State remains relatively inexpensive compared to the Northeast or California. Look at all this new Victorian offers, with acreage and in a central location, for $275,000.

*Bob Keenan is a strong supporter (and practitioner) of home education. The Montana Republican is thinking of running for the U.S. Senate.

Torts textbookpensée: "It was often said, perhaps with more accuracy than humor, that at common law the husband and wife were one, and the husband was that one."

*The Student Information Network, at the College of William and Mary, forthrightly "reviews" teachers' classroom performance (other schools also have this consumer service). For instance, this review is of none other than Susan Wise Bauer, an English dept. adjunct and co-author of The Well-Trained Mind.

*Bravo, Jim Les, for a beautifully-coached game. Brought to mind the verse from Corinthians, "Run in such a way that you may win."

*Entries for the 12th Carnival of Homeschooling are due by tonight. Send them to phatmommy@gmail.com (Shannon).